Signs of life in Vegas?

Al Luchterhand, the subject of my March editorial, has given us an update that offers glimmers of hope for the dire Vegas housing market. Al, who owns Sun City Landscapes in Las Vegas with his business partner Louie Polish Jr, writes:

We have sold several pieces of equipment, backhoes, skip loaders, end dumps, mini bobcats, storage containers and trailers either at auction or private buyers. We have also had the advantage in this economic downturn to return leased equipment and not renew any new leases. That is a beautiful thing about leases and if we have the need again we can go out and lease new equipment based on our workload.

We are definitely seeing increased activity in the traffic through the new communities, which percentage wise will lead to increased sales. This is definitely a positive indicator in our industry.

Generating new work/sales is important for everyone. One homebuilder we just picked up is selling because of the buyer they’ve targeted — starter homes for the first-time homebuyer.

We all have to look back at the early ‘90’s and see what was going into the houses that were built. It was formica counters, linoleum floors, no pot shelves, or popouts on the exterior. We call it down and dirty, quality homes at economic prices. People don’t care for the granite counters, tile floors or even drywall in their garages. They want an affordable place they can call home. It is the American Dream to own a home.